The Marauders
by pole553
Summary: Join the sorrows and adventures of the four original Hogwarts' troublemakers as they go through their life with Voldemort gaining power. Experience the untold story of Marauders as they fought for what they thought is right, until the very end (at least most of them). Reviews are welcome
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Fright Night**

The creak of closing doors startled the woman, ripping her afar from Morpheus' grasp. As she opened her eyes, a view of a man came into her sight. A man she knew very well. Acknowledging the fact the man did not realize he has awaken her, she stared at him for a longer while, melancholy filling her heart up. They were married for a whole year and yet she was still unable to fully comprehend all of the world's wonders the man had shown her. The man's piercing brown eyes were scanning the whole room, until his eyes met hers.

'Hope I didn't wake you, love?' the man asked, a sad smile displayed on his face.

'No, I wasn't sleeping for a while now,' the woman lied, eager for his company.

The man sighed and neared to the sofa she rested upon, squeezed in the right corner of the living room. Before sitting down next to her, he released a lengthened piece of wood from the depths of his scarlet red robes and waved it lazily, causing the nearby window to open ajar. He then rested on the silky sofa with a deep, restless groan as the woman neared to him and put her head on his muscular shoulder delicately.

'How was the work today, honey?' she asked, stroking his unshaven cheek tenderly.

He let out a deep murmur of irritation, 'The Strathtully beast is still on the loose. I've tracked it down with three of my best men today yet it escaped. We were so close to ending this nightmare –'

He paused, his voice on the verge of breaking. He let his head hang loose upon his shoulders, swaying from side to side.

'You'll catch it yet,' the woman reassured him, grasping his head with both of her hands and pulling him closer to trap him in a emotional hug, 'Tomorrow's a new day,'

'I know,' the man replied, kissing her delicately and clutching her strongly until their hearts beat as one. They sat in silence, enjoying the blissful closeness of each other.

'How was Remy today?' the man asked after a moment of silence, still in the safety of her arms.

'Your son decided to levitate my grandmother's vase and break it in the middle of the room. Your blood, to be sure,' she said, smiling widely.

The man let out a slight whisper of amusement, 'You've never really liked the vase anyway,'

'Precisely why my reaction was simply an outburst of laughter,' the woman added, laughing loudly, 'Besides, it's not going to be the only thing laying broken before our son learns how to control his abilities,'

'Indeed it won't be,' the man answered, concluding the conversation.

Suddenly, the silence was pierced by a sonorous sound of glass shattering, its broken remaining echoing in the room. The man jumped up, reaching up for the insides of his cloak and thrusting out the wand in front of him.

'Lyall, what's happening?' the woman whispered frantically.

Before the man was able to answer, he was interrupted by an inhuman growl in the room next door, savagely announcing his presence. The man rushed to it, knocking over a chair on his way, desperately trying to reach the source of the noise. Upon pulling the handle of the door, his ears picked up the one sound he wished he'd never hear. _His son's cries_.

'REMUS!' the man screamed, smashing the doors open and freezing when he saw what was the cause of all the racket.

A man was atop of his son, growling and roaring furiously as he cast his sharp teeth deeper and deeper inside his son's flesh, blood spurting out and staining the pearly white linen sheets. The boy underneath the creature was weeping, his limbs uncontrollably shaking as he feebly attempted to get the monster off of him. His struggles were weakening with each second as the man dug further into his flesh, life essence all around him.

Lyall reacted immediately. No one was going to hurt his son. 'STUPEFY!', he shouted, and a red wave flew out of his wand, travelling towards the intruder. It him hard on the back, sending him flying away from the bed, smashing him against the further wall. In normal circumstances, the spell would stun an individual. However, the creature rushed up and hissed. He was abnormally fast, speeding towards the caster with his clawed hands outstretched in front of him.

'Impedimenta!' Lyall shouted once more, sending an outburst of blue flames in the direction of the attacker. The man stopped in his tracks, encaged by the spell's effects.

Lyall was now able to get a proper look at his attacker. His massive head was covered in black streaks of hair covering his entire skull, his entangled beard now wet from the blood of the child. Spike-like teeth were shining in the blue aura of the spell like sea waves shimmering in the light of the sun. His eyes. Wild, animal eyes that were now staring at him furiously as he attempted to free himself from the effects of the spell.

'Greyback...,' the man whispered, stumbling against the nearby wall with shock, 'Damn you, you monster!'

'Good evening, Lupin,' the beast replied, his teeth savagely chattering with rage, 'How'd you like me now? How'd ya like the soulless, evil, deserving nothing but death monster like me?'

'Why my son? Why him?' the man asked weakly, fury stirring up inside him, 'Why did you touch an innocent boy?!'

'I have an exceptional taste for young blood. And now, your son is –'

He was stopped by a flash of white light emerging from Lyall's wand. It hit him square on the chest, staggering him backwards yet dealing no further damage to him, 'You'll pay for this!'

The beast laughed madly, shaking his head and causing his tangled hair to fly all over the place, swirling and sending the remains of partially dried blood onto the beige wall, 'My vengeance is complete,' he growled, nearing towards the bed once more. 'Such a pity,'

'Damn you!' the man screamed, exploding with fury. He sent a spell after spell, each curse reaching its destination, slowly massacring the beast. He knew he was unable to kill him without endangering his wife's safety and yet he did his best to attempt to do so.

The beast growled irritably, unable to take another step forward. After receiving another bolt of yellow flash upon his chest, his animal instincts flared as he realized his existence was in danger. Casting one last look at his latest victim, now swirling upon the bed in agony as the venom spread, he howled and emerged through the window, sending the already broken glass everywhere.

The infuriated man chased after him, only stopping at the verge of the window, cursing the man yet being unable to reach him.

'Lyall?! What's going on?!' his wife screamed just outside the room.

'Stay outside, Hope, just stay there!' the man grunted, tears of sorrow erupting from his eyes, 'I don't want you to see this!'

On the contrary, the woman rushed into the room, afraid of what she may be welcomed by in there. Upon seeing her son, her only and beloved son, lifelessly lying on the edge of his bed, she broke down in tears and fell to her knees. No words could possibly express her feelings like the mournful wails filling up the entire toom.

The man swore loudly, nearing towards Remus' bed. He could still save him, he knew he could. The view was truly a horrifying one - white sheets were now covered in scarlet while blood still continued to gash out from the deep wounds all over his little torso. The boy's body had been mauled by the sharp teeth of the werewolf, leaving severe openings that continued to flow the blood out.

The man crouched down by his son, took a deep breath and began to mummer a series of extremely complicated spells, known only to advanced tier wizards. Slowly, most of the blood began simmering back into the body the same way it left, tenderly flowing back into the arteries and veins. The boy's face started regaining colour. Only after the man was absolutely certain that no tissue hadS been left untouched by the effects of his spells, he rose up and walked over to his wife who was now sprawled across the floor in complete pain and agony of mourning. His firm hands helped her up as she welcomed the safety of her arms, sobbing silently into his shoulder as he stroked her hair with his bloody hands.

'It's going to be okay,' he whispered into her ear, 'He's going to be okay. And I promise you Hope, I swear to you I will get the beast that did this to him,'

'Who... who was that?' the woman succeeded in sobbing out, hugging her husband tightly.

'A werewolf that the Ministry let out. I... I... I was furious about his leave yet the decision had been made,'

He picked her up and carried her over to the bed on which their son was recovering on. Lyall opened his son's eyelids and gasped upon seeing the pupils. They were yellow, the same savage shade of yellow that was present in the monster's retinas. In the temple of each others' arms, they waited and waited, waited until Remus Lupin would awake and face the sorrowful truth.

All copyrights go to J.K. Rowling. First chapter of the Marauders' series. All reviews will be appreciated and Welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

'Sirius! Get down here right this moment!' a high pitched voice sounded, echoing across the entire house of Grimnauld Place Number Twelve. The caller happened to be a tall, strict-looking woman of light blonde hair that was, as usual, made into a tight bun which only emphasized the severe looking face that was now displaying deep anger that which flashed across all of her body gestures. She was clothed in rich-looking, velvet green robes that were highlighted with silvery laces placed upon her collar and waist.

'On my way, mother,' replied a young yet already handsome looking child, stumbling down the stairs gracefully. He possessed black hair that swirled around his head like florets of dandelion flowing on strong wind, emphasized by gentle yet attractive facial features and deep, mesmerizing grey eyes that were observing their surroundings with adult like caution. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he took a deep breath to prepare himself for what was about to happen, straightened his clothes and entered the room located on the right of the staircase.

He now found himself in a long, spacious room with no furniture. The extraordinary thing about the room were the walls. The entire room save for the floor was covered in various names, each connected to the next alongside a small picture displaying the person above it. The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, a maze of thousands of years, all described in the deepest of details, all in that very room, signed off with the Black coat of arms that was proudly presented in the middle of the ceiling, from which the entire family began. An outstretched wand inside a gloomy looking skull underneath which the Black family motto was displayed: _Toujours pur_. Always pure. To the Black Family, these words were almost sacred, a guide throughout the entire centuries pure blood mania. For Sirius, it was merely an absurd sign of fanatics that neared towards pathology with each decade.

Clearing his throat, he closed the doors behind him and granted himself a curt bow to his mother. She turned around, nodded approvingly and started walking around him, observing him. 'Are you ready for your departure?' she asked him sharply, stopping behind him.

'No, I'm leaving tomorrow yet I am completely unprepared,' answered Sirius automatically, instantly regretting his comment after receiving a stinging slap on his right cheek.

'Don't get clever with me, boy!' the woman snapped, crossing her arms on her chest and walking up to him, 'Tomorrow will decide whether you are a true Black or not. Don't disgrace our family,'

'That would be extremely unfortunate, wouldn't it, mother?' the boy answered carefully, his face straight.

The woman frowned, unable to work out whether the boy is jeering her or not. She slapped him again, for good measure. She neared her face to his, so close they were only millimeters apart. 'Don't disappoint me. You are a true Black. You are a true pure blood. You are the true heir to our legacy,'

Sirius remained silent, fighting off an urge to snort sarcastically.

The woman examined him for a while longer, her face expressing emotions that were very well known to Sirius. _Uncertainty. Fear. Hatred_.Yet no love, no, love was never visible in Walburga Black's eyes.

She nodded at him, 'Very well. You are dismissed,' she said, turning around and returning to her job of examining the tapestry. Sirius left his mother to her pure-blood thoughts as he walked out of the room, heading towards the underground kitchen. As he walked, he was closely watched by the heads of the house elves, perfectly arranged in a long row, hanged on both sides of the corridor. Each head displayed no emotions, their eyes empty and emotionless and each one uglier than the other yet still, Sirius somehow always felt unnerved by the sight of them. They reminded him furthermore of his loneliness in this huge house, with no one to ever share his thoughts with.

Sirius reached the stairs and began running down them only to stumble upon a particularly ugly looking house elf with floppy, bat-like ears that hung around his head like two great tents flopping on the wind. The elf bowed to him, murmuring 'Master Sirius', contempt clearly audible in his voice. Sirius did not even bother to look down, he simply walked past him, pushing him aside. Kreacher never really liked him, the house elf being completely obsessed in serving the Black Family, him being the youngest in the generation, with no fear of getting his head chopped off if he would be no longer able to serve.

Sirius entered the kitchen, a large, unfriendly room that sent shivers up his spine. He noticed his father sitting at the far end of the table, a goblet of Firewhisky in one hand and the newest copy of the Daily Prophet in the other. His father was a tall, noble-looking man from who Sirius inherited the thick hair. However, while Sirius let his hair fly lose and let it grow to mad lengths, his father kept his hair fairly short. Upon seeing his eldest son, he grunted as a sign of welcome and continued in his lecture of the Daily Prophet. Sirius sat down at the opposite end of the table and began eating, enjoying the temporary silence that was not to last.

As expected, the peace was disrupted by the entrance of his brother, who walked straight up to father, bowed generously and murmured, 'Always pure,'. His father nodded in a sign of approval and pointed at his right hand side seat, upon which Regulus sat with dignity and casted a long, reproving look at Sirius, '_See big brother, that's how you do it!'_

Sirius snorted into his toast upon seeing his brother's usual behavior. He never got quite bored of how his brother attempted to make a show of himself to humiliate Sirius and yet all he had ever done was entertain him. He began thinking excitedly about tomorrow, about his journey to Hogwarts, away from all of this. Most of all, he couldn't wait till the Sorting Ceremony – it was his greatest wish to be sorted into a house other than Slytherin. Honestly, it could even be Hufflepuff. Anything to rebel against his family's foul traditions.

'This man is a hero!' his father exclaimed loudly, commenting on the Daily Prophet. It was not unusual for his father to loudly opinionate himself at the table, attempting to relate every news to being pure blood. It was long since Sirius learnt that all he had to do was nod and say 'Yes, father,' at the appropriate times. This time, his father expanded his comment into a lengthy speech. 'This man is fully aware of the pure blood domination! The less Muggles there are, the better for the whole wizarding world. You know what boys?' (Sirius smiled and exclaimed, 'Yes, father?' as ironically as possible), 'I want both of you to be like this man. We both know that sooner or later, pure bloods will take over the Mudbloods and the whole world. Every Muggle is to be exterminated and wiped off the surface. Surely, you are both very well aware of it,'

'What is the article about, dear father?' Regulus asked, smiling politely while staring at his father with fascination.

'Both of you must've heard about the Dark Lord, do I stand correct?' he asked, glancing at them both expectantly. Sirius nodded. Of course he has heard about him. Lord Voldemort. His parents called him a hero. He called him a cold-blooded murderer.

His father continued, 'Well, an article in the Daily Prophet proclaims five Muggles dead, all victims of the Killing Curse. The animals must've been slaughtered by him, and for good measure! The Ministry suspects him too but thanks to his contacts inside, he will be left untouched. A war is finally coming! The Ministry will fail under his reign!'

He then turned straight to Sirius, stroking his black moustache gently, 'Son, you must use every occasion possible to show your superiority towards the Mudbloods! Show them they are nothing more than pathetic excuses for a wizard!' he concluded, smashing his fist against the table, a flame of anger clearly visible in his eyes.

'Of course, Father,' he assured him, smiling. It was one thing to jeer his mother yet he did not dare to cross his father - he experienced his rage after daring to generalize Pure Bloods and Half Bloods on his own skin. The scars on his back never quite faded.

Their conversation was disrupted by a sudden buzz inside the fireplace located behind Sirius. The flames erupted, changing colours like a chameleon, from the usual, flaming red to a deep shade of emerald green that caused them to rise up into a wall of fire.

From amidst the flames, a young woman emerged. She has long, curled black hair, artfully sprung around her shoulders, clothed in majestic, black robes that highlighted her heavy lidded coal-black eyes that looked down at Sirius with disgust as soon as she stepped out onto the cold stone floor of the Black kitchen.

Orion Black rose up from the chair and stretched his arms out, walking towards the newcomer, 'Bellatrix! What a lovely surprise!' he exclaimed, hugging her upon reaching her.

'Hello, uncle,' she said quietly as soon as she slipped out of his grasp, 'It is truly an honor to see you again,'

Regulus jumped up from the table and bowed to Bellatrix frantically, so hastily that he had almost lost his balance. Sirius started choking on his food with amusement.

'What brings you here?' Orion asked, gesturing her to take an empty seat next to Sirius. Bellatrix gave him a dirty look and added, 'No thank you, uncle, I'll remain standing. I've only arrived for a moment, I'm very busy. I'd like to inform you that Rudolph and I are now married,'

Orion gasped, shocked. It has been a well known, long family tradition for a pure-blood wedding, leading back at least a few centuries.

'My sincere apologies for not announcing it earlier, however there was no time for a wedding. It was quiet ceremony, for we were afraid of capture if we were to make it official,' she said, not a hint of regret upon her face, 'We are now officially husband and wife, I'd like you to inform Walburga too,'

'Of course… Of course,' said Orion, still disappointed by the fact there was no wedding to behold.

Bellatrix nodded curtly and passed Orion, walking over to her cousin.

'Best of luck tomorrow, Black,' she hissed, lowering her head so low to his that Sirius could feel her hair tingling his forehead, 'Don't disappoint us,'

Black never liked Bellatrix, just as he loathed his parents. She was just like them, her head full of pure blood convictions that were in no way to be changed. She stared down at him boastfully, challenging him to look away. He however looked back, the grey eyes meeting the endless black pit eyes of hers. Others would feel intimidated, he just felt bored.

'I wouldn't dare to do that, Madame,' he said, emphasizing the last word with as much hatred as possible, 'I'll do anything to serve the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black,'

Her eyes picked up the jeer yet she remained still. Suddenly, she gazed away, rising up and, after exchanging courtesies with Orion, she walked over to the fireplace, grasped a handful of Floo Powder and was just about to throw it into the hearth when Orion said, 'Give our best regards to the Dark Lord and let him know we fully support his cause,'

Bellatrix turned around, Floo Powder seeping through her fingers, the waterfall of powder falling towards the floor, 'Oh, I most certainly will, Uncle,' she said mysteriously and, upon throwing the powder into the emerald flames, she stepped inside the hearth and disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

**James**

A thin, deep hazel-eyed boy grinned widely as he rushed out of an innocent looking wall at the beginning of the platform. His hair was tousled mischievously, giving him an appearance of someone who just woke up and attempted to give his hair an overall look of symmetry. His eyes lit up like two great lanterns upon seeing the great wonders lying in front of him. His imagination grew mad – _this was it. _He was finally going to Hogwarts. He smiled, displaying a set of straight, white teeth and unconsciously messed up his hair even more. He was driven apart from his unfulfilled dreams by the appearance of his parents, who, similarly to him, emerged out of the wall behind him. They beamed at him and grasped him by his shoulders, one guardian at each side. He looked up expectantly at them, to which they've replied with a reassuring nod and led him on.

They continued up the platform, passing by dozens of students who evoked the chaos on the platform. They were screaming, laughing, packing their trunks, talking to their parents and contributing to the overall hubbub present at the platform. Owls could be heard screeching, cats meowing, rats squiggling, all increasing James' ecstatic amazement. However, the most epic view was of the shiny, black train, steaming up like countless fire pits and whizzing loudly, signalling its departure time. James found himself to constantly turn his head, engulfing as many wondrous sights as possible. His parents led him further down the platform, smiling knowingly at his astonishment. They led him to the back where, amongst countless others, he packed his trunk along with his brand new grey screech owl which he named after his favourite Quidditch player, 'Parkin'. Stuffing the trunk in impatiently, he then turned to his parents.

'Now, you be good,' his mother said, tears glistening in her eyes, 'Make sure you –'

'Send an owl at least once every week, I know,' broke in James, rolling his eyes knowingly.

'And–' sobbed his mother.

'Comb my hair, brush my teeth, listen to the teachers and try not to hex anyone. Have I missed something, mum?' James listed, grinning at his parents.

'Oh honey, I cannot believe he is so grown up already!' his mother exclaimed, burying her head into his father's shoulder. He winked at James roguishly. James Potter's mother cried at least once a day ever since he received the Hogwarts' letter.

'Well, it's about time for you to be off, kiddo,' his father said, tapping his wife on the shoulder comfortingly, 'Train's bound to leave any time now,'

Upon hearing the words, his wife sobbed hysterically and clutched James to her, squeezing the breath out of him. Taken aback, he imitated his father's actions feebly and looked up to him questioningly.

His father mouthed, 'She'll come around,' after which he pulled her away from James, tousled his hair and embraced him caringly, his wife still sobbing at his shoulder. Pulling away, he glanced at James emotionally and gestured him to get on, waving his hand when James pointed direction of his other, slightly more emotionally invoked parent,

'And James!' his father shouted as he walked in the direction of the train's entrance, 'Remember, if you won't get into Gryffindor, I'll disown you!'

James laughed cockily, casting one last look on his parents : his mother now resulted to taking out her pink handkerchief, blowing her nose loudly and smiling at her son weakly, waving. James climbed up the steep stairs and stood by the window, waving at his parents as the train started pumping, a roaring rumble coming out from the inside of the monster. He continued in saying farewell until they vanished out of sight as the train took a sharp corner and sped up, the rumble now fully audible, the sound ringing in his ears until he accustomed himself to the noise. As he now delved further into the wagon, the anticipation increased beyond the limit due to his realization that the dream he has been imagining had finally come true.

Hogwarts was awaiting for him. Finally, a time for him to prove himself and show his boldness and braveness had come. For the last month, he had been counting days on his calendar, longing for the long-awaited date of 1st of September. Lost in his thoughts, he did not spot a dark haired boy, who similarly to him, had a blank sight, both boys lost in their imaginations. They impacted, heads crushing into each other as James stumbled over the boy, resulting in both of them landing on the floor of the corridor.

'Well... That's one way to say hello,' murmured James, rubbing his forehead as the other boy grumbled, copying his actions and moaning with pain, 'Sorry 'bout that. Didn't see you there,' he added, offering him a helping hand.

'That's quite all right,' the other boy mumbled, gratefully accepting his hand, rising up, his long hair swirling in mid air. James pulled him up and casted a long look at the stranger, noticing his black, houseless tie.

'Hey, you're a First Year too, aren't you?' he said excitedly, his eyes growing big, 'Hi, my name is James. James Potter,' he added, pure pride singing in his voice.

'Sirius,' the other boy grunted, still massaging his forehead.

'Yeah, I'm serious about this,' said James, offended. He was not going to let anyone take the mickey out of his family, particularly not anyone of the same age. The other boy looked at him, corners of his mouth twitching,

' Yeah, I'm also deadly serious on the fact my name is Sirius,' he said, grinning loudly.

'Oh,' said James, surprised. He made a fool of himself, so he just decided to go along with it, 'As in serious Sirius?'

'Seriously Sirius,' the other boy said, offering a handshake.

'Well, it's seriously nice to meet you, Sirius,' said James, accepting the gesture and laughing loudly. They continued together in search of an empty compartment, playing puns with their names ('So what, you make pots?). Suddenly, James stopped by one of the compartments as if he was struck by a lightening.

'Come on, this one's not empty either,' said Sirius, tugging him by the shoulder before casting one look at his newly met acquaintance. James was walking on the sunshine, his mind blank. 'Oh,' he added mysteriously before glancing over his shoulder at who happened to be the object of James' interest.

The compartment was empty aside from one person sitting in the very corner, staring out of the window. James could honestly say he had never met anyone quite like the person. It was a girl of sea of long, light-catching red hair that was smartly flung over her shoulders. James was entwined by her eyes – deep, green eyes, eyes of the forest that he just lost himself him, eyes that were now looking out of the window mind absently.

'I'm on fire,' whispered Sirius straight into James' ear. James elbowed him and flung open the doors of the compartment with much more force than necessary and paraded inside, his eyes still clinging onto the girl. She didn't take note, either too absorbed by her thoughts or simply ignoring the newcomer.

Sirius rolled his eyes, strode into the apartment and pushed the seemingly stunned boy onto the neighbouring seat. James finally escaped from the trance and grinned at Sirius nervously, attempting to peak at the girl every moment possible. His companion sighed frustratingly and attempted to make a conversation with the unusually silent boy next to him, 'So... What's your favourite Quidditch Team?'

Unknowingly, Sirius had just released an avalanche, for the one thing James Potter adored more than anything was Quidditch. He was completely obsessed with the sport, packs of posters stuck up in his bedroom, wizards soaring through mid air, performing astounding acrobatic sequences that led to a spectacularly scored point or leaning out on the extreme edges of the broom in their chase of the tiny, walnut sized golden ball.

'Without a doubt, Montrose Magpies. I adore their style of play, I think that Fabius Watkins is the absolute top Chaser in England. Seriously, (he grinned at Sirius playfully) I'm still angry he didn't get picked into the National team again,' James went on, describing every single player of his favourite team. He even went as far as giving Sirius their dates of birth to which his companion yawned exaggeratingly.

'How about you, Mr. Solemn?' asked James but before Sirius was able to return with an equally satisfying pun, their conversation was disturbed by the compartment's doors sliding wide open. An average height boy walked in, his greasy black hair shining in the lamp's light, his crooked nose protruding from the rest of his white, sallow face. He rushed through James and Sirius without sparing as much as a glance at the two boys and sat opposite the red haired girl, immediately involving her in an agitated conversation. James stared at him in mocking disbelief and leaned over to Sirius, whispering, 'I'll bet you a galleon we could hang baubles off of his nose,'

Sirius snorted and answered in a hush voice, 'Give the guy a break. Just buy him a bottle of shampoo,' James laughed but attempted to cover it up with a very badly imitated cough. In the end, he sounded like a choking chicken.

'Anyway, I'm a Stinger myself,' said Sirius, returning to their previous conversation.

'No. No, honestly?' said James in disbelief, 'Wimbourne Wasps?

'Yeah. Despite their terrific last season, they can really play a good game if they want to,' said Sirius, eyeing the newcomer. '

Well, they haven't played a good game in over ten matches so –'

James suddenly paused and turned all of his attention towards the greasy haired boy, 'Slytherin?' he said out loud upon overhearing part of their conversation. The boy eyed him suspiciously, his black eyes glaring at him coldly. Unbothered, James added, 'Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?'

Sirius frowned, the smile present a few seconds ago now completely wiped off his face, 'My whole family has been in Slytherin,' he murmured, blushing.

'Blimey,' said James, taken aback, 'and I thought you seemed all right!'

Sirius smiled unconvincingly, 'Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got a choice?' James smiled proudly, imitating to lift up an invisible sword which he then slashed across Sirius' face,

'_Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart_! Like my dad,' The newly met boy made a sound that could either be taken as a jeer or an extreme case of dragon pox. James discouraged the former and retorted, 'Got a problem with that?'

The boy looked at him coldly and replied, 'No. If you'd rather be brawny than brainy –'

'Where are you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?' put in Sirius maliciously. James burst out with laughter, the greasy haired boy blushing slightly. The girl, a red frown visible upon her face as well, rose up furiously and stared at James angrily. He didn't look away, returning the stare, something else visible in his eyes.

'Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment,' she said, looking away and exiting the compartment, accompanied by James' and Sirius' squeal attempts to imitate her voice. The boy called Severus got up and followed, only to stumble upon James' purposely placed leg. '

See ya, Snivellus!' shouted James as the boy left, waving at him sarcastically.

The rest of their journey continued without further disturbances if not counting a small, plump-looking boy barging in. Welcomed by James' and Sirius' bewildered stares, he blushed and backed out of the compartment, apologizing squeakily, his apology accepted with a roar of laughter from both of the boys. When the sweets cart stopped by their doors, they both purchased a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavoured Beans and gorged themselves in them, pulling silly faces upon meeting unpleasant flavours. Feeling the train slow down and the Hogsmeade Station sliding into their view, they scrambled off their seats and began the monotonous job of pushing through the crowd of students, all eager to get off the train. James came up with an idea of screaming 'Security, make way!' behind the long line of students, to which Sirius quickly caught on, speeding up their venture and causing them to nest off the train ferociously faster. Stumbling down the steep stairs, they both casted long, ludicrous yet amazed looks around the platform, surrounded by neatly arranged houses of thatched roofs and white walls.

The darkness fell quickly, limiting their line of sight. Soon, both of the boys were swarmed by the wave of students emerging from the train, this time their 'Security' plan not working. Avoiding being trampled on, they stuck together and pushed through the seemingly never ending packs of students. The familiar sound of hundreds of students chattering excitedly was pierced by a deep voice of a man coming from the end of the platform, 'First years, over here please!' James and Sirius hurried through the oncoming groups of students blindly only to meet a curiously contrasting view: a small, broad shouldered man holding up a lantern ended up to be the source of the noise. He was accompanied by the largest man James had ever seen, a man possessing an enormous head covered in long, shaggy hair and wild, uncontrolled beard.

'Bloody hell, and I thought you were hairy, Sirius,' joked James, patting his friend on the shoulder as they made their way over to the two men. Sirius didn't reply, he merely messed up his hair and squinted his eyes, imitating the strange man. James exploded with laughter, groups of students looking at him curiously. 'Don't worry,' shouted Sirius hastily, 'He got dropped as a baby,' he explained, granting apologetic looks to the students.

'Everyone here now?' the smaller of the men shouted, glancing over the group of first years, all displaying different emotions; from fear to amazement to nervousness. Both James' and Sirius' face shown only one : amusement. The man nodded approvingly and turned around, gesturing the students to follow. The enormous man joined him shortly, after beaming at the students warmly. James and Sirius were one of the first ones behind him, the red haired girl and her black haired companion on their right.

'Make sure you won't get squashed by the giant,' James whispered to the boy called Severus, 'Although, on the second thought, nobody would really mind, would they?' Sirius backed up the comment with a silent snort of laughter. Severus eyed James coldly and was about to retort back before being pulled away by the girl, who pushed them further down into the crowd.

They reached a shore filled with numerous boats, waves silently beating against the wooden bows like a hammer gently forcing nails in. Behind them was a deep, pitch black forest, leaves rustling against the gentle wind coming in from the north. James could have sworn he saw something slithering between the trees but as he blinked, the illusion was gone.

'Now, no more than five in a boat! Do you hear, no more than five!' the leading man shouted, his deep voice spreading amongst the students. James and Sirius both rushed towards the nearest boat. James caught the stare of a red haired girl looking at him hence he smiled widely and gestured her to their boat. She put her head up high and walked off to the opposite end of the shore.

'Next time, mate,' grinned Sirius, snapping his fingers at him as his eyes lingered on after the girl. To their amusement, the giant decided to get on the same boat as them. The boat swayed alarmingly as he slid on, flushes of water flying inside the boat. He gave them both a warm smile as they stared at him, attempting not to burst out laughing. James tried so hard he received a nasty pain in his stomach.

'Everybody in?' the other man roared, himself in a boat with four other students, 'Don't look to the sides, sit up straight! Now, forward!' he exclaimed, the boats rushing off the shore without use of any force. As they moved through the dark waters of the lake, the giant gurgled,

'Yer all pret'y excited, aren't ya?', his black eyes looking down at them happily, 'Not a thing like Hogwarts, ther' isn't,' he added, his large hands stroking his wild, entangled beard.

James glanced at Sirius, winking at him conspiratorially . Suddenly, Sirius gave a truly artistic moan before sliding down to the bottom of the boat, faking agitated spasms all over his body. James forced himself to look horrified, while deeply amused on the inside. The giant glanced at spastic Sirius with panic.

'Blimey, what's wrong with 'im?' he blurted as Sirius began the act of rolling across the boat, his hands slapping the bottom of it.

James had to admit his friend did indeed put up a pretty convincing act as he shouted, 'No idea,' , making himself look just as panicked as the poor giant. 'Help him!'

The giant appeared truly startled and lost. He raised his hands up helplessly and began to poke the boy with extreme tenderness. Sirius now resulted to breathing in loudly, his croaky voice on the point of breaking. The giant was on the verge of shouting for help when Sirius suddenly rose up, screamed 'Gotcha!' and exploded with laughter. The giant froze, his hands in mid air, only to follow their amusement and pat them both on their backs, resulting in knocking the air out of both of them.

'Nasty little buggers,' he managed to murmur before giving himself over to another roar of laugher, 'Ya all got me good this time,' he said after a while, when they all managed to calm down. James and Sirius glanced at each other proudly.

'Name's Rubeus Hagrid, trainee of the Hogwarts' gamekeeper,' he bellowed, extending his hand out. Both of the boys shook hands with him, feeling like a bird enclosed in a cage upon his grasp, 'That man o'er there is Ogg, he's the Keeper of Keys,'

The boys nodded positively, wide smiles still displayed upon their faces. They reached a grey, sharp edged cliff to which they had to bow their heads in order to pass. In an instant, a truly magical view appeared to them. At the other side of the lake which shimmered with the reflection of dazzling stars, stood an enormous castle built upon a great hill. The castle was gigantic, bigger than anything James had ever seen in his entire life, with dozens of towers surrounding the great, stone walls perched with thousands of windows, all of them alight brilliantly. James and Sirius both opened their mouths with admiration. The castle was even more majestic than his father had been telling him, truly a school of magic.

'Ah, the sight ne'er gets boring, don't it?' commented Hagrid. James attempted to reply to no avail, merely wordless grunts escaping his mouth, himself still too amazed with the view. Judging from the silence, Sirius was in a similar state too. Hagrid chuckled knowingly, nodding his great shaggy head at them.

They reached a stone set of stairs by which the boats stopped, inches from crashing. 'Now, everybody out!' bellowed the man named Ogg as he left his boat, other students following clumsily. Hagrid gestured for them to get out first before he too staggered out of the boat, ignoring the amused looks of other students. James and Sirius smiled too, not at the giant's awkwardness like everybody else but at prospect of reaching the castle any moment now. They followed Ogg and his assistant up the stone stairs built upon a great, grassy hill that led them to a vast courtyard. Even in the immense darkness, various mysterious sculptures could be seen due to torches being evenly spread around the walls, the flames flickering in the lazy gusts of wind. The students, James and Sirius amongst them, chattered excitedly as they made their way over to the huge oaken doors across the courtyard, only to come to a sudden halt as Ogg gestured them to wait, himself lifting up great, brass handle placed on the door and knocking three times, the sound bouncing off the stone walls of the courtyard, filling their ears with resonant ringing. For a moment, a wall of students stood by the entrance doors, impatiently stepping from one foot to another, exchanging nervous glances and casting frightened looks at the giant.

James himself was thinking of the moment he would himself step into the Great Hall, described in so much detail by his father during the cold, wintery nights that James spent upon his father's knees as his guardian sat down in his favourite armchair by the fireplace, re-telling many of the adventures he shared with his friends during his time at Hogwarts. But most of all, James was thinking of the mysterious red haired girl, the way she glanced at him angrily, her great green eyes meeting his. Remembering the abrupt conversation, he felt a sudden jolt in his stomach. The feeling was unnaturally new to him and James Potter did not enjoy being ridiculed. He was pulled out of his thoughts with a loud creak of the doors opening, revealing a brightly lit hall behind them, torches ablaze upon the walls, undisturbed by the rushes of wind.

'Thank you, Ogg,' a stern voice sounded from the doors, concealed from James by Hagrid's massive back. As the wave of students began to flow into the warm insides of the Entrance Hall, the giant stepped aside, allowing a tall, strict looking woman to emerge from behind the doors, swiftly gesturing them all to enter. A silky emerald hat, decorated with a glistening hawk's feather stuck to the edge of it was placed upon her brown haired head, wise green eyes scanning them from behind her spectacles that gave her an astounding resemblance to a cat. Her lips were drawn together in a sign of impatience as she hurried them up, inviting them to a small room in the left corner of the hall. James overheard countless voices speaking excitedly in loud voices from behind an enormous pair of wooden, masterfully carved doors on their right as he followed the crowd into a tiny room, exchanging excited stares with Sirius on their way.

'Very well,' the woman said after all of the students had gathered round her. James was immediate to realize that she was a teacher whose limits were not to be tested; he made a mental note to himself and smiled at all the opportunities of mischief that were about to unfold.

'Welcome to Hogwarts!' the woman continued, 'My name is Professor Minerva McGonagall. The Sorting Ceremony which is to determine your future housing is about to begin. Would you please be so kind to follow me in a straight line and stay together until your name is called out. Now, no dawdling!' she concluded, spinning on her heels and leading them to the previously seen set of carved doors.

'Oi,' Sirius' voice sounded in his right ear as they were upon to enter the greater of two rooms, 'She's missing whiskers,' he added disappointingly.

James chuckled as the great wide doors opened noiselessly, displaying a grand hall. Four long tables were stretched across the entirety of it, now filled with hundreds of students sititng on both sides of them, shamelessly staring in the direction of the newcomers. At the further end of the hall was a long, horizontal table filled with members of staff. James had only glanced at it, spotting a tall, bearded wizard with a starry hat who appeared to hum to himself happily, a large elder with a huge belly and a moustache that gave him an appearance of a walrus and a nutty looking youngster, no older than thirty, gazing at the ceiling in silent wonder.

It was only seconds till James joined his delight as he looked up and stared at the ceiling. Or its lack. The walls of the hall stretched out into an abyss as they disappeared beneath a starry, cloudless night that hung over the students as they made their way over to the front of the hall. Sirius tapped James on the shoulder and pointed a falling star that was crossing the sky above, leaving a glorious, golden trace behind.

Although it was held to be a typical Muggle belief, James closed his eyes and muttered stubbornly, '_Gryffindor_' with all his heart, awaiting the moment he would sit amongst the students of scarlet. Reaching the low stairs that led to the Staff table, they stopped abruptly, welcomed by a three legged stool covered by an old, once black hat that was ripped in several places. Professor McGonagall gestured them to wait while she made her way over to the stool, flung out a long piece of parchment from her sleeve, extended it and said, 'As I call out your name, please take a seat,'

James snorted sarcastically. A hat? An old worn out hat was supposed to be the judge of his worthiness? He shook his head in disbelief, a disappointed grimace stretched across his face. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and exclaimed loudly, 'Abbery, Alicia!' to which a small, terrified looking small girl trembled towards the stool, her two long ponytails bouncing off her back as she walked. The teacher carefully placed the hat upon her head then moved away. To Sirius' surprise, the hat came to life, two small patches glancing around the hall knowingly. After a while, it bellowed, 'GRYFFINDOR!' the sound coming from a long, linear rip across the entirety of the clothing. The table on the far right exploded with cheers, the girl happily jumping off the stool and rushing towards the table, relief painted upon her face.

Three more students were called out, a tall, grim looking boy who was sorted into Ravenclaw and two blonde girls that could be twins, both chosen to join the Hufflepuff Table. As Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly, James heard a nervous gulp coming from behind him. He turned around and noticed that his newly met friend's face was a deep shade of green, his eyes determined to look forward. Before James was able to cast a questioning look, he was stopped by a aggravating announcement of the next student. 'Black, Sirius!'

**All copyrights go to J.K Rowling. Very happy with this chapter, enjoy and please leave reviews, always of help!**


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter is dedicated to CptAbLovegood, my first ever reviewer :)**

**Chapter 4**

**Sirius**

Sirius gulped nervously, a single streak of sweat trickling down his temple like a drop of rain flowing down a window. The moment he had been both dreading and anticipating had finally come. The moment of truth. He sighed heavily, smiled at James reassuringly who was staring at him in sincere surprise and emerged out of the crowd of students, his legs feeling like blocks of jelly. Every step seemed like thousands of years, his goal of reaching the stool seemingly out of his reach. He felt as if with every step, he stepped farther out rather than getting closer and yet as he stumbled and touched the smooth wooden surface of the stool with his own hands, he knew.

'_Here goes nothing_' he thought, taking an uncomfortable seat upon the stool, facing the sea of heads in front of him, attempting to throw off the nervous looks of students who were gazing at him feverishly.

Suddenly, his view disappeared as Professor McGonagall slid on the hat onto his head, causing it to swoop over his face only to stop upon his nose.

'Hmm… Another Black,' a hoarse voice rang in his right ear, causing him to flinch in surprise, 'Yet what's that? A fair deal of bravery I see… A fairly educative mind too. Dread of the future. And pain… Ah, yes, a lot of pain,'

Sirius suffered in silence as the hat, as he now realized, commentated upon his various features. Himself a single spectator, he felt the fear he had been holding inside his heart now leaking and consuming him whole as he gave up on controlling his long tamed emotions.

'Yes… I think this would be wise… A rare exception, I must admit,' the hat murmured, it's voice lowering to a croaky whisper, 'However, it must be done. GRYFFINDOR!' the hat screamed out loud, the sound echoing wildly across the hall.

Sirius felt a bliss wave of relief sweeping across him, thousands of thoughts flowing inside his head as the hat was carefully removed. He jumped up joyfully, noticing James in the crowd of students, who grinned at him madly, his hazel eyes sparkling with happiness. Sirius grinned back and forced himself not to skip over to the now cheering Gryffindor table, his mood as close to perfect as it has ever been.

'I've done it,' he thought happily, shaking hands with an older looking students he chose to sit next to, his mouth twitching as he stifled a need to laugh out loud.

'I've shown them! How'd you like this, _mother?' _he jeered silently, admiring his scarlet tie which transformed the instant the hat made the choice, practically shaking with pride.

He now awaited his newly met friend's turn, who stood along with the rest of rapidly decreasing group of first years. He took particular notice at the girl James was so astounded by, as Professor McGonagall called out 'Evans, Lily,' to which the girl responded by striding proudly towards the stool, taking a set confidently. The hat decided within seconds as it announced 'GRYFFINDOR' sonorously. Lily got up, her bright white teeth displaying deep happiness as she made her way over to the Gryffindor Table, pausing by the group of First Years for a moment, for a reason unknown to Sirius. A she reached the table, welcomed by loud applause, Sirius moved over to make space for her. Lily glanced at him, remembering him from the train; she decided to sit as far away from his as possible (which wasn't very far at all, opposite of him in fact, due to the table being mostly full). She did however avoid his eyes for the entire rest of the ceremony.

Sirius' attention was latched by a scrawny looking, thin boy of brown mop of a hair that was called out to the stool right after 'Longbottom, Frank!'. Named Remus Lupin, he scrambled onto the chair hesitantly, sitting on the very edge, in danger of sliding off any second. His hands were trembling visibly, even from afar where Sirius sat as the Hat tolled its verdict. He flinched as the ragged piece of cloth was flung off his head, staggering over to the scarlet table, looking more terrified than satisfied. He chose to sit at the very corner of the table with no one around him, cheered for nevertheless, even if done so with much less enthusiasm than for others. Sirius caught Lily staring at the boy with empathy as he chose to fix his stare at his shoes, ignoring the curious looks of everyone around him.

Sirius was too staring at the boy, torn apart between going over and talking to the strange boy and loyally staying in order to observe his friend's sorting. James was called out right after the plump boy that ventured into their compartment on their way to school. So, after 'Pettigrew, Peter' was called out and sorted into Gryffindor as well, James hurried over to the stool confidently, his eyes revealing a little nervousness he was otherwise able to conceal. The hat made its decision the very second it skimmed James Potter's head, bellowing 'GRYFFINDOR!' to which James jumped up positively the very moment the hat was freed off his head. His gaze searched for Sirius in the long river of students, smiling happily upon meeting his gaze, his grin growing even wider as he realized who happened to be the person sitting opposite his friend. He casually slid into the seat next to Lily's, winking at Sirius roguishly. They both waited impatiently for the Sorting to finish, both of their stomachs rumbling, having only consumed a few dozen of Every Flavored Beans that may have tasted like chicken but they unfortunately lacked the properties of the real ingredient.

Lily straightened up as her black-haired companion was called over to the stool, her head twisting awkwardly in order to get a good look. The boy sat at the stool nervously, just as many before him, his face displaying eerie agitation before the Hat was thrown down his face. This time, the Hat took a while to decide. James loudly signified his impatience, tapping his fingers on the table, following the tune of one of The Hobgoblin's greatest hit, _'Teach me how to Apparate'_, along with blowing his mouth loudly, much to Lily's annoyance.

As the Hat finally made its decision, announcing 'SLYTHERIN' to the whole Hall, the table on the opposite end of the cavernous room exploded with cheers, sounding somehow colder than the Gryffindor welcome. The boy got off the chair, shuffling miserably towards the directed table, his eyes expressing deep sorrow mixed with excitement. James summed it up with a loud, obnoxious snort which caused Lily to stare at him disapprovingly, her eyes glistening with something dangerously close to tears.

Sirius immediately turned his undivided attention towards the ceremony, ignoring the girl opposite him. Finally, as the last name, 'Vance, Emmeline' sounded, resulting in housing into Ravenclaw, Professor McGonagall took away the hat as well as the stool, exiting through a pair of doors on the far right of the Staff Table.

'I'm starving,' murmured James, glancing at Sirius, 'Almost hungry enough to eat this table,'

Lily frowned but refused to reply. Sirius just stared blankly at his friend, unable to come up with a clever retort, himself too hungry to comment. He noticed the plump boy eyeing them nervously. Upon realizing Sirius was staring back, he blushed and began looking in the completely opposite direction. Turning back to his friend, Sirius noticed James was now laying on the table, his head repeatedly banging against it, chanting 'Food, food,' as if it was a mantra.

The whole hall fell silent as if an invisible cloak was swept over them as the tall, bearded wizard stood up and walked over to the stand facing all four of the tables. His eyes were twinkling happily as he swept them around the room, a pleasant smile sprawled across his face. His long, white hair was reaching all the way up to his waist, a waterfall of white bouncing as he continued on walking. His long, white beard was of similar length, only he decided to tie it up at the half-way point, making his beard look like two large, majestic hunches. As he reached the lectern, a large ornamental owl spread its coppery wings upon the man's touch, reflecting the light of multiple lamps hung across the hall, almost giving the man an illuminating look.

'Welcome, to yet another year at Hogwarts!' the man exclaimed loudly, lifting his arms up in a welcoming gesture, 'Now, before we sink our teeth into these most definite delicacies –'

'Oh great,' mumbled James, his messy hair shaking in despair as he shook his head, as if to shake off the speech and continue hastily.

'Now, for those of you who arrive at Hogwarts for the first time, my name is Albus Dumbledore. I'll do you the courtesy of skipping my most complicated middle names and would like to make a few necessary announcements. Firstly, I'd like all of you to gift our most beloved Hogwarts game keeper, Ogg, with a round of applause as he joins us in his last year at Hogwarts,'

Sirius only now spotted their guide sitting on the left side of the table, the giant Hagrid accompanying him. As Ogg rose to receive most mediocre cheers, Hagrid's head still managed to tower over him, only emphasizing how tall he really was. As Ogg took his seat back down, Hagrid patted him on the back, something that was meant to be gentle in the giant's manner. However, Ogg coughed feverishly, concealing what Sirius thought was a large grunt of pain as the huge boulder-like hand landed on his shoulder.

'Now, it is also my great pleasure to announce a change in our staff. Please, welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Debenhams who will be replacing Professor Ravery who is no longer able to continue teaching this year. I am sure you will bid the professor a most glorious greeting,' the young man who was staring at the ceiling a few moments ago stood up and took a deep bow, his purple robes swirling, contrasting with his blonde, neck-long hair.

Sirius joined in with the claps of the others while James slid down the table, carefully inspecting whether something edible could not be found underneath it. Stumbling merely upon a dried piece of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, he dived back up immediately, a look of exaggerated dismay upon his face.

'Now, without any further delays, I leave you to humanity's most beloved delight! exclaimed Dumbledore, merry flickers present in his eyes.

As soon as Dumbledore finished his speech, all four tables instantly became full of treats, wood creaking underneath the sheer weight. Plates filled with crispy roasted chicken, bowls of steaming shepherd's pie, variety of fish, meats from all over the world, all laid upon the plate for students to indulge themselves in.

'Thanks be to Merlin,' sighed James with relief, being at a stage of contemplating to take a chunk of wood and see how it tastes just a few seconds before, 'About time,'.

Sirius grinned at him and packed his golden plate with everything surrounding him, deciding to have a bite of every cuisine.

'So, Evans,' said James, wiping grease off his hands with a tissue after effectively finishing a piece of chicken, 'Want to get lucky?'

Lily turned her head towards him, pausing a vigorous conversation with a girl on her left. She raised her eyebrows suspiciously.

'What's that supposed to mean?' she asked, eyeing him carefully.

'Well…,' sighed James, smiling mischievously, 'Want to hang out together?' he asked, casting a wink at the astounded girl.

' Believe me, Potter,' she started, her voice threateningly shaking, 'As much as I'd love to, you're just too much of a stuck up git for me to even consider it,'

Sirius' jaw flew down, a conspicuous 'Ooooooh' coming out from his mouth, himself staring at James and smiling at the jeer.

As if nothing happened, James kept on going, 'Come on, Lily,' he said, emphasizing her name, 'You don't even know me,'

'I think I know you enough to realize you're a spoiled little kid,' Lily spat, her red hair flying all over the place as she spun around to continue the conversation with her other friend, mumbling, 'Especially not after what you have done to Severus,'

'Okay, I'll be nice to Snivellus,' moaned James impatiently. However, Lily ignored him completely, sea of stunningly red hair being the only answer.

'Next time?' said Sirius, grinning happily as James sighed exaggeratingly and turned his attention towards his newly met friend.

'So… Your mum isn't going to be happy with the sorting, huh?' asked James, throwing a piece of chicken inside his mouth, 'What's up with your family anyway?'

'Not much. I'm sure it'll smooth over,' said Sirius quickly, fearing where the conversation is going to go, 'So, tell me about your family,'

'Pure blood. Not that it matters to me, I just don't get the whole mania, right? Witch is a witch, wizard's a wizard, does it matter where they come from?' said James, swallowing a particularly large piece of chicken.

'Have you heard about… ,' he looked around and leaned over to Sirius, making sure that no one is listening, 'Voldemort? Apparently, he murdered an entire Muggle village last night. The Obliviators are doing whatever they can to cease the Muggle panic. My dad spent the entire night patrolling the surrounding villages,'

Sirius frowned, surprised, 'Who's your dad?' he asked, fearing the answer.

'Jacob Potter,' James answered proudly, 'Head of Aurors. I want to be just like him!' he exclaimed, slumping back down into his bench.

Sirius felt a nasty pinch inside his stomach.

'James' father is spending his time chasing half of my family around,' he thought sadly, unnerved at how James is going to react upon realizing who he is, 'Why do I have to be a Black?,'

'You all right, mate?' asked James, spotting Sirius' sad frown, 'You look like your broomstick just broke!'

Sirius attempted to conceal his visible emotions by grinning widely.

'Nah. Just trying to imagine what else may happen during this year at Hogwarts,' he said, talking directly to James.

'I know, right? This year's going to be wild!' exclaimed James joyfully. Sirius smiled back as he fell silent due to spotting the headmaster moving towards the lectern once more.

'Now, I sincerely hope your enjoyment of the feast was amazing,' he said loudly, glaring at the students contently. James met his eyes and thought of them to be going through his soul, knowing his every sorrow.

'Now, since I can see your tired souls that are desperately trying to get into beds, I will not delay you no longer,' said Dumbledore, ending the feast, 'Just remember one thing. Heights matter!'

Sirius stared at the old man for a moment, wondering about what the headmaster meant. James just shrugged and scrambled out of his chair; Sirius followed. They calmly moved out of the Great hall, James desperately attempting to stay close to Lily and observe her, Sirius rolling his eyes and following silently behind. They reached a staircase that seemed nothing out of ordinary at the first sight. That was until they defeated a set of stairs and jumped back upon seeing the next staircase sliding alongside for them.

Due to a Prefect, Amelia Bones, leading them, they reached the desired painting quickly, taking all the shortcuts possible. As they noticed the artistic piece displayed on the wall, presenting a scene of an elderly, extremely plump woman standing behind a castle, she took a look at them and said gracefully, 'Password?'

The prefect exclaimed loudly, 'High over low,'. The woman smiled and the painting suddenly flew out of its hinges on the side, displaying a medium sized hole leading to a warm location behind the wall. As they stood in the queue leading to the opening, Sirius whispered to James happily, 'Lucky she fit in the canvas,' to which James replied, 'Yeah, some girls in our year could have had problems with that,', making sure that a small crowd around him, Lily included, heard him clearly.

Upon entering through the mishap of the wall, they reached a medium sized, yet covertly cosy common room, with a corner in which a fireplace cracked merrily, warming the room up pleasantly in a matter of minutes. There were two red couches gathered around the fire and few small tables with a small selection of books on each one. There was a large window, displaying a large lion standing on its hind legs on a background of scarlet, now displaying a calm, yet terribly clouded view outside the window.

The prefect turned around and said, 'Boys on the right, girls on the left. You will find all your luggage present at your bed already,' as she moved on through to the staircase of the bedrooms herself.

The boys moved in through with some other, particularly older Gryffindors. James however took no mind to this and pushed on through as an equal, Sirius sticking to him closely. They reached a bedroom and to their content, found out that they shared one. They scrambled up the remaining steps and rushed into the allocated room,

'I want the one by the window!' shouted James as they pushed through the room, rushing inwards.

They found the other two beds of the boys they would be sharing their room with empty, giving them a biased selection of choosing the beds. James, as exclaimed, took the one out of the window, having a beautiful view of calm, black lake upon sharp, grey cliffs. Sirius took the one closest to the doors, in the far left corner, being particularly close to the fireplace in the middle of the room. It was old fashioned and had carvings around the side, displaying the Hogwarts Crest and the Gryffindor Lion, proudly standing up, bracing for an attack.

They unpacked and changed into their pajamas, loudly talking about their first day at Hogwarts. Sirius particularly enjoyed the feast, the selection of foods being long and varied. James announced that his favorite part was Lily Evans calling him a 'stuck-up git,' to which Sirius approved of by snorting loudly. Upon pulling the curtains of their beds, they laid on their beds and started once again talking about Quidditch. They were on the verge of falling into a deep, selective dream, when their peace was disturbed by an entrance of a small boy, falling upon entering. James jumped out of his bed while Sirius tried to scramble out of his sheets.

They discovered the strange, lonely boy down on the floor, feebly rising and murmuring dangerous insult about the step inside the room. James extended his hand to help the boy, which he accepted gratefully and straightened up.

'Thanks. Stupid door,' he grunted, choosing to take the bed in the far left corner, a flat piece of wall surrounding him. He dumped his trunk underneath the bed, kicking it in with frustration, taking off his cloak and collapsing onto the bed, putting the red, opaque curtains up.

Their final roommate ended up being a tall, thin boy called Frank Longbottom. Upon exchanging greetings, Sirius glanced at James as they both stealthily announced that this boy was a perfect pranking material. However, due to them being extremely tired, they both fell onto their beds with deep sighs, deciding to pull their curtains up and sleep. As Sirius gave himself over to the sweet bliss, he thought of how sincere James' acceptation was and how he just knew they were going to be the best of friends.

**Remus**

As Remus swooped the Hat on, his head started grieving with miserable memories. _The pain bursting through his veins as the werewolf gene spread. Turning into a monster every month, at full moon. With no going back. Ever._

'Hmmm,' a grouchy voice sounded in his right ear, 'Bad luck boy, bad luck. But where to put you?'

Remus closed his eyes and stayed calm, achieving a straight, expressionless face throughout the epiphany of the Hat.

'A brilliant mind. And a desire… A desire to prove yourself, to expand your potentials… Yes… So…,'

James closed his eyes, staying calm. The voice became louder as it reached to the end of its conclusions.

'Let it be… GRYFFINDFOR,' the hat announced loudly, and in a matter of seconds, the hat was removed off his head, as he stood up and walked over to the cheering table.

He didn't feel much. As a child, he learnt that his emotions must not be concealed, otherwise it just hurts too much. As he glanced at the table, he decided to sit at the very end, where barely anyone was seated. He didn't like being with people. They made him feel different.

'When you're by yourself, no one can hurt you,' thought Remus, ignoring the strange looks of other Students, deciding to fix his stare down at his shoes.

'Don't look at them,' he repeated to himself silently, his long, brown hair falling onto his forehead, concealing him from the aroused students.

He continued staring at his shoes, reminding himself of his father's look as he walked him off to the station.

His father. The only person he could have ever counted on, the only person who truly cared about him. Now, he was gone.

'It's fine,' he thought stubbornly as the headmaster began his speech, and the looks of the students transferred from him.

'…Great pleasure to announce a change in our staff. Please, welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Debenhams who will be replacing Professor Ravery,' he listened in on the announcements, his stomach rumbling. He didn't turn his head to honor the new teacher with a suspicious glance, he just continued to look down onto his shoes. They shimmered slightly in the light of the candles, he noticed.

As the headmaster walked off and the food magically appeared on the table, Remus reached for the nearest plate, filling his plate with a slice of shepherd's pie and chicken. As he ate quietly, sticking his head up ever so slightly, his green eyes darted in the direction of other students, eyeing them curiously. He continued eating in silence, now easily ignoring the astounded looks of wondered students. With the headmaster's strange announcement, he got up with the rest of the students and headed out towards the Entrance Hall, passing the small cabinet in which they were all packed before.

Remus recalled just how nervous he was on the inside, slowly building up the courage along the way. As they walked into the small room, he felt frightened. As they walked out, he felt calm and steady. He wondered at the Hat's decision, expecting of landing in Hufflepuff or hopefully, Ravenclaw. He didn't feel like a Gryffindor. His traits didn't resemble of courage or such. He was just… himself. Remus John Lupin.

He was so carried away by his thoughts that he didn't even realize the extreme unstableness of the stairs, simply following the crowd chattering around him, being caught right in the middle. He simply stumbled through the portrait and started admiring the insides of his now to be common room. It was cosy.

'Cosy enough to sit down by the fire and read a good book,' Remus thought happily, walking over to the fireplace and staring into the flames intensively. This was going to be his year, he decided. He was going to pass his first year. He was going to make his father proud, the smallest way of repaying him possible. He continued to stare at the fireplace, strolling off towards the bookcases, feverishly searching for titles. They were all about magic.

'Plenty to read, and yet I still haven't even been in the library!' Remus thought excitedly, casting one last glance at the book-full shelves, venturing towards the bedrooms. After studying which room was allocated to his name, one name flew into his sight.

'Black,' he thought curiously, 'As in Bellatrix Black?'

He walked over to the room tiredly, his exhausted feet foaming with pain. Upon finding the right number, he passed over the step, only to misjudge the height and crash into the ground painfully. He muttered angrily, stumbling up irritatingly, only to be welcomed by two curious boys staring at him in a surprise. One of them, with a wave of hair sticking at the back, offered him his hand, which Remus accepted gracefully due to being on the edge of collapsing back down again.

'The full moon is in less than 10 days,' he thought in panic, fatigue spreading over his body. He needed sleep or he would be facing monstrous moods in the morning.

He grunted a sentence of gratitude and slapped onto the bed, pulling curtains up and enjoying the ecstatic silence, being disturbed merely by two boys talking to each other briefly. He soon fell into a deep, satisfying sleep, his mind floating away in the peaks of mountains or depths of the oceans, unbothered by the problems of everyday life.

**Sorry about Lupin acting like a child, he will be one of the majorly developed characters in the FF. Hope you enjoyed it, will post new chapters within 3-4 days.**

**Disclaimer: All copyrights belong to J.K Rowling**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Peter**

As a particularly cold morning slipped its way into Hogwarts, a small, blue-eyed boy rose awake, rubbing his sleepy, sensitive eyes with clenched fists, attempting to shake the sleep off and prepare himself for his first day.

'This is it,' he thought excitedly, 'My first day at Hogwarts!'

He stumbled from his bed, being welcomed by cold, penetrating silence. He was the first one awake. He picked up a loud snore coming from his right, the only thing piercing the otherwise constant silence.

Peter scrambled his brand new robes from atop of his trunk and crept into the bathroom as quietly as a mouse, not wanting to wake the others. Judging from the unfathomable darkness visible from the window, it were still early hours of dawn. Jumping into shower with a selection of several various taps, from bubbly, steam-hot water to freezing lashes of shockingly cold liquid, he let the water flow as he remained standing in the shower, accompanied by severe splashes around him.

He remembered seeing his mother's face as she bid him farewell on the station. Tears were glistening in her green eyes, so much alike his.

'Not my father, though,' the boy thought bitterly, turning the stream of water off and exiting the shower. His father did not see him off, being most likely slumped on the couch of his tiny apartment, ever-growing crowd of empty beer bottles surrounding him, a defenceless victim that has lost the will to fight. His father was perfectly comfortable in his own little word, living off benefits, away from Peter and his mother. Truthfully, Mr. Pettigrew tended to be different. He used to spend entire days with his son in the park, playing with him, entertaining him, anything for 'Pete', as he used to tenderly call him. However, ever since learning the truth about Mrs. Pettigrew, his desperate attempts to stay away from the 'weirdos' as he called them, increased furthermore. He ceased seeing his son, simply scared of what they were.

'He wasn't always like that,' thought Peter miserably, adjusting his scarlet tie proudly. To his own astonishment, he was selected into the house of the red lion. With his mother being in Hufflepuff, that was what he expected himself. Yet, as the hat roared the announcement of him, Peter Pettigrew, joining the Gryffindor table, he practically ran across the hall to the table, fearing that the hat may possibly change his mind.

Hearing numerous gossips about the house, he had to admit he was actually intimidated by the history of the house. As he stared at the portrait of a fierce looking man of wild, shaggy red hair glaring at him knowingly, he remembered reading about the famous founder of Gryffindor.

'Godric, above all, praised courage, determination and strength of will and heart above all else,' he recalled the introductory text of 'Hogwarts: A History', now safely tucked away in the corner of his trunk.

The more he thought about it, the less confident he grew. He just couldn't find any of these traits inside of him. He was just... Peter. He always thought of himself as average, possibly even below the standards. Throughout his eleven years of existence, he barely left the house, tutored by his mother and despised by his father. He accustomed himself to loneliness, discovering both its numerous advantages yet also haunting limitations.

'It's all past now,' he murmured stubbornly as he descended down the Bedroom Tower, entering the warm insides of the common room. Assuming he would be the first one there, he mused at a sight of a small, thin looking boy of brown, feeble hair sitting at the sofa by the fireplace, his eyes glaring at the fiery flames, himself absorbed in deep thoughts.

Peter froze behind the boy. After a moment of thoughts, he cleared his throat awkwardly to announce his presence. Not receiving any answer, he murmured shyly, 'Hello,'.

The boy suddenly flinched as if electrically shocked, a book placed upon his lap falling to the ground with a loud thump. He glanced at Peter shortly, his eyes glaring at the boy blankly.

'Hi,' the boy said, a small smile enlightening his face, 'Up early, huh?'

Peter grinned back, happy to actually make a conversation with someone.

'Could say the same about you,' he said, nearing towards the boy, his nerves ticking.

'Oh, yes. I... I don't really sleep,' the boy added, blushing, 'Not if a good book can help it,'

'I see,' answered Peter, glaring at the supposedly entertaining book. He enjoyed reading. Not a lot, he was never able to go through more than a chapter at once. Yet, he definitely enjoyed reading.

Seeing Peter's point of interest, the boy hastily snatched the book from the puffy carpet and concealed it from Peter's vision.

Embarrassed, Peter shrugged his shoulders and smiled blankly, desperately attempting to make a conversation.

'I'm Peter. Peter Pettigrew,' he said after a moment of awkward silence. He assumed it'd be best to start with his name, hoping the other boy will not just ignore him and actually reply. To his pleasant astonishment, he did.

'Pleasure. Remus Lupin,' the boy replied, shoving the book between the cushions and extending his arm.

Peter stared at it blankly, needing a minute to comprehend the gesture.

'Oh,' he squeaked loudly, hastily shaking hands with this new, strange boy.

The boy smiled widely, yet Peter noticed that the smile was somehow forced. His eyes did not twinkle even a little bit, with only one emotion visible. An emotion known to Peter very well.

'Well... I think it's about time for some breakfast,' said Peter, seeing the greyness outside being flustered by the early rays of incoming sunshine.

Remus smiled sadly and returned to his seat on the couch, digging out the previously buried book from behind the cushions. Peter remained still, looking at Remus expectantly. He really did not want to go down to the Great Hall all by himself. The crowds somehow seemed to scare him. He didn't feel comfortable amongst big groups of people. He felt like a rat, silently slithering through the crowd yet remaining largely unnoticed, almost ignored by most.

After a moment of silence in which Remus attempted to ignore Peter, he finally looked up, 'Oh, no. I'm not really hungry. I think I'll just stay and read for a while, my lessons don't start until much later,'

'What's your first period?' squealed Peter excitedly, not wanting to abandon the only company he had.

'Transfiguration,' Remus mumbled, not even bothering to look up. Upon answering, he buried his nose in the book and ignored Peter completely.

'Same here!' answered Peter loudly, his voice jolting with tension.

When no answer was heard, Peter remained standing in the very same spot, awkwardly joining his hands together as he attempted to think of something smart to say.

Realizing that he was no longer wanted, Peter hung his head miserably and started shuffling towards the exit, his mousy brown hair falling onto his forehead.

Just as he was about to exit, he heard Remus exclaim, 'See you there!', to which Peter smiled gratefully and left the common room, knowing that possibly, just possibly, he had just made a new friend.

**James**

James woke up with a sonorous scream, a large, shaggy head of red, evil eyes and sharp, ferocious fangs floating above him. As he jumped out of his bed, the head startled back and simply slid off, revealing a long haired boy of long black hair, now rolling on the floor and inviting the incoming spasms of uncontrolled laughter.

'Oi!' James exclaimed, throwing the pillow onto the entertained boy, 'I'll get you back for this!'

'Oh,' the boy managed to say during his short pause in laughing his head off, 'Why so Sirius?'

'You know,' James exclaimed, throwing the other pillow along with the rest of the things located on his bedside table, 'The name puns are no longer funny if the person takes the mickey out of himself!'

'That's the whole point of it,' answered Sirius, now getting up and shielding himself from the oncoming wave of thrown objects, a grin never disappearing from his face.

Suddenly, James stopped, taking a deep breath and calming down.

'Fine. You got me. Truce?' he said, putting his hands up in an innocent manner.

Sirius glared at him, blowing his long hair off his face lazily.

'Truce,' he answered, nodding at James joyfully.

'Vengeance is sweet,' thought James roguishly, 'Just you wait, Shaggy, I'm going to get you for this,'

Already scheming an equally entertaining joke, James looked at the mirror beside his bed. His hair looked as if a firecracker had just exploded inside it, black hair literally all over the place.

'Acceptable,' he thought, giving his hair a rough shake and clothing himself in his robes while Sirius still sniggered silently in the other corner of the room.

They left the bedrooms while ferociously discussing the subject of Transfiguration.

'Once, my dad transfigured an ugly jumper my auntie gave me for Christmas into a sack of galleons!' explained James excitedly.

'What, doesn't ickle James want to keep warm?' sneered Sirius, smiling mischievously.

They arrived at the already crowded Common Room, with a pack of older Gryffindors stretched out on the couches, the fireplace flickering merrily in the overall happy hubbub of the scarlet students.

As they were leaving the common room by the small, centred hole in the wall, one of their roommates fell right on James after tripping on his own feet.

'Why is everyone falling on me nowadays?' grunted James as he struggled to get up, Sirius experiencing another outburst of laughter.

'Easy question. You're simply beautiful mate,' sniggered Sirius as he helped the unfortunate oppressor up off the floor.

'How is it we always meet while you're laying on the ground?' the Black asked, pulling Remus to his feet, 'Really weird first impression, huh?'

Remus laughed nervously, nodding his head silently as he squeezed past them, exclaiming a quiet 'Sorry' as they walked past.

The rest of their journey to the Great Hall was spent on discussing James' handsomeness (and, in Sirius' case, comparing it to a cruelly ugly case of a grindylow attack), both of the boys anticipating their first day at Hogwarts impatiently. As they passed through the ajar doors of the Great Hall, they once again admired the truly stunning view of the lack of ceiling, the sky displaying a clear, blue plane hindered by a fluff of white clouds, looking like giant pieces of cotton candy.

They took their seats at the nearest empty slots on the Gryffindor table in the far left of the hall, squeezing through groups of students that were chattering happily. As they passed a group of particularly loud seventh year students at the Ravenclaw table, they were bid farewell by a immaculate explosion of a gassy substance, followed by an outburst of laughter from the Ravenclaws, one voice towering over the others as it informed the crowd, 'Told him he won't be able to transform orange juice into a goblet of Firewhisky!'.

The boys smirked as they took their seats at the table, James helping himself to an enormous bowl of porridge while Sirius swished up scrambled eggs hastily.

'So, have you heard about our Transfiguration teacher?' asked James, leaning over to Sirius sneakily.

'What about her?' asked Sirius while fishing out the very last of the scrambled eggs, pushing the plate away and getting up, James following as he explained.

'My dad went school with her. Apparently, even when she was younger, she had quite a temper,' explained James as they exited the hall. Upon their departure, they noticed that the goblet of supposedly transformed Firewhisky now turned into a swirling liquid of sickly yellow.

'How about we test that temper of hers?' proposed Sirius mischievously, sniggering at James knowingly.

'You have read my mind, mate,' answered James as, after fetching their bags and books from the common room, they made their way over to the Transfiguration class.

The walk was not an extremely long one – the Transfiguration class was located on the ground floor , on the left of the Middle Courtyard which happened to be a grassy area with statues of all four of the founders' emblems. As they reached the class, James' eyesight was met by a boy of greasy black hair, standing in the corner, part of him concealed by the wall

'Snivellus!' exclaimed James loudly, 'How miserable it is to see you again!'

Severus glanced at him angrily, his black eyes declaring a silent yet fierce war with James.

'Potter,' he spat furiously, crossing his arms on his chest, 'What do you want?'

James was about to issue Snivellus with the poor condition of his hair when suddenly, a red haired girl emerged from the corner by which Severus stood.

'Do everyone a favour and use a –' started Sirius before being violently interrupted in his tracks by James, who elbowed him discreetly.

Sirius casted a surprised look at his friend, only to notice the boy was not even staring at him. His sight was stuck to the girl, himself grinning widely as he kept his hands behind his back in an innocent gesture.

'Evans!' he exclaimed happily, 'How're you doing?'

Lily glanced at him, a hint of smile itched upon her face, only to shake her head sadly as she grasped Snape by the shoulder, turning them both around from the boys' company.

'You know, I'd say 'next time', but –'

'Don't you even try it,' exclaimed James, his teeth gritted hard.

As the rest of the class gathered round the classroom, James grew familiar with the faces of children that would accompany him for the next seven years.

There was a boy of wild ginger hair, freckles randomly thrown on his face. He was chattering avidly to James' roommate, a boy of squared, slightly plump face and short, black hair combed to the side. Next to him was a girl with frizzy brown hair that reached down all the way to her waist, herself staring around the corridor with understandable astonishment.

James also noticed the strange, lonely boy who was unsurprisingly sitting at the very end of the wall, almost unrecognizable as he kept his head down, patiently waiting for the lesson too start.

Precisely at five past eleven, the oaken, iron refurbished doors of the Transfiguration class swung open and the awe-gripped groups of students entered the designated room. It ended up being a large building with a high ceiling and grey-bricked walls. There were rows of seats arranged neatly, all facing the front where a single desk was located. It neighboured with a blank blackboard whose immense darkness was like of the dark, moonless nights.

As James and Sirius slipped through the students to acquire the seats a fair deal away from the front, they noticed various artefacts scattered around the walls. Some of them happened to be old worn out shards of jagged rock, other happened to be cages with live birds in them, who were now staring at James with their black beady eyes.

While taking their seats, James couldn't help but cast a short look in order to search for the girl. He smirked upon realizing she, along with Severus, took the seats at the very front, not a meter away from the teacher's desk. Suddenly, his observation was disturbed by an entering of the same stern-looking woman who led them to their Sorting. She threw a quick wistful look at the class, sweeping her eyes around every students for a short moment. As her eyes stopped at James, he returned with a short, mischievous smile that was immediately announcing 'I'll be trouble!'.

'As you all may be aware, my name is Professor McGonagall and from this day forward, I will happen to be your Transfiguration teacher,' she started briskly, her lips drawn back, as thin as a pencil.

'I will expect no trouble with any of you. If you respect me, I will respect you back,' she continued, smothering her grievously green robes while removing a wand from her cloak.

She swept the wand sharply, causing a long paragraph to emerge on the blackboard, white lines disturbing the calm black sea.

'Now, Transfiguration is by far the most complicated form of magic,' Professor McGonagall explained, gesturing the students to inspect the blackboard, 'It focuses on a change or transformation, hence the name of an object into something else entirely. Due to laws of physics, the reason such things can be achieved are due to our alteration with the object's molecular structure. We cause it do misshape so we can bend it to our will. There are four branches in the mastery of Transfiguration, however in your first year you need only worry yourself about the first one. Transformation. Now –'

Her speech was disturbed by Sirius' hand darting into air. James smirked as his friend whispered, 'Time to check,', his eyes fixed on their teacher.

'Yes, Mr.?' asked McGonagall, looking at Sirius disapprovingly.

'Black, professor,' he answered, looking at the teacher innocently.

'Well, yes, Mr. Black, what is your question?'

Sirius looked at the teacher blankly, confusion displayed in his eyes. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, as if unable to unroll the wave of speech that was stuck into his mouth. After a moment of an inner struggle, the whole class was looking at Sirius with surprise.

'Sorry, I must've forgotten,' exclaimed Sirius, smiling at the teacher happily.

'Right. Well, as I was saying –' continued McGonagall, completely ignoring Sirius' abnormal behaviour.

'She's not that bad,' whispered Sirius excitedly, leaning his head over to James who nodded positively.

'Now there are five factors that an individual must take under account, each equally important. Would Mr. Black be inclined to enlighten us with at least two?'

Sirius, who was still in partial conversation at James, bolted up straight upon hearing his name only to find out the whole class was staring at him in expectation, with Professor McGonagall glaring at him sharply. Once again, he opened and closed his mouth several times, this time in panic as he struggled to come up with an appropriate answer. James suspected Sirius did not even touch A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration ever since purchasing it.

'I... I,'

'I fear you must've forgotten,' said McGonagall, accenting the second part of the sentence.

Sirius blushed slightly, a clear shade of red displayed upon his pale, squared jaw. Unable to answer, he merely nodded hastily, a feeble forced smile itched on his face.

McGonagall shook her head and turned around to face the board. As she did so, James noticed what might have been a warm small smile in the corners of her lips, her mood so carefully contained.

'I take that back,' murmured Sirius nervously.

The rest of the lesson passed on Professor McGonagall explaining the basics of the Transformation branch ('Remember, the most important thing is your precise pronunciation!'). James and Sirius expressed their boredom through supporting their heads by their arms, practically laying on the desk. Every now and then, they flung their heads down dramatically, pretending to take a quick nap.

The last half an hour of the lesson was announced by a box of matches passing through all of them, landing a single match for each of the student. They were about to experience their first attempts to Transform a match into a needle, as instructed by the teacher.

'The key is to imagine the sharpness and pronounce the incantation immaculately. Remember: Teriforte!'

James sat up cockily, pointing his new wand and observing it for a moment. His trip to Ollivanders Wand Shop was one of the first, most exciting stages of becoming a wizard. As he enter the dusty room filled with shelves full of wands, all entangled by the inpenetrable darkness in the corners of the location. He was on his own, he specifically asked his parents to select his wand alone. He wanted to prove he was no logner a child.

As he grasped numerous wands, they felt... normal. There was nothing in the pieces of wood that made him feel special. They were all normal for him, average sticks that did not feel powerful.

Finally, as the old, grey haired shopkeeper granted him with yet another wand, he felt a strange tingly sensation in the tips of his fingers. Warmth swooped his entire body like a huge wave of heat wave when entering a steamy sauna.

'Eleven inches. Mahogany. Unicorn's hair' he remembered the old man saying, proudly packing the wand as James paid seven shimmering Galleons and left the shop, excitedly clutching the wand in his right hand.

Now, this was his first real test. He grasped the wand tightly and clearly said the incantation, swooping the wand over the match. When no effect took place, he repeated the process. Realizing that absolutely nothing had changed in the match's appearance, he glanced over to see his Sirius was doing.

His newly met friend was spitting the incantation angrily, his mood worsening with each failed attempt. In the end, his anger reached such standards that he smashed the wand at the match, causing the wand to release red sparks from which the match caught fire after which it went flying across the room only to end up in the frizzy brown hair of the girl at the front of the classroom.

The girl shrieked as she felt the heat rising up her neck. Sirius' expression was somehow mixed between extreme embarrassment and an unhealthy urge to laugh. The first one seemingly succeeded as he jumped to the front, burbling 'I'm sorry' loudly while trying to get to the girl and put the little fire out.

He was relieved of the task by Professor McGonagall who, with an instant swish of her wand, put the fire out, leaving the hair utterly unscathed. The only memory of the incident happened to be the frightened girl who constantly attempted to turn around and inspect her hair closely.

'It's okay, Emmeline,' her friend kept on repeating like a mantra while looking at Sirius angrily. The Black heir was simply standing by them, rooted in the spot, bombarding the girl with numerous apologies. Upon firm confirmation that her hair was not changed in any way, the girl smiled at Sirius weakly and accepted his apology.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, casting yet another disapproving look at Sirius as she gestured him to return to his seat. For the entirety of the remaining lesson, Sirius huddled in his seat carefully, waving his wand as gently as possible, casting nervous glances at McGonagall every now and then.

Upon exiting the classroom, James noticed his roommate that had a strange tendency for falling walk past him. It would be nothing extraordinary if not for one detail that specifically clung to James' attention.

_A wide, long cut that was just visible over his collar._

**Sorry for a shorter chapter but I am now suffering from a sudden empty head. Wanted to share this with you, hope you enjoy it, always leave a review if you like it!**

**All copyrights go entirely to J.K Rowling.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I dedicate this chapter to Robin Williams in the time of his unfortunate death. For me, as well as many other readers, he was the actor that basically created our childhood. **

**Chapter 6**

**Remus**

A sudden gasp of pain struck Remus' body like a tonne of needles hammering heavily. He withered on the bed, desperate to keep quiet in order not to wake the others. This was not the first time he experienced the severe sensation of his body being ripped apart violently, just a small fraction of what he went through every full moon when he gave himself over to become the creature of the night.

'Just breathe,' he thought calmly, attempting to calm his nerves as he desperately grasped the sheets of the bed, gritting his teeth; he would not allow a slightest glimpse of pain.

Not in Hogwarts. Not now. Not when he finally seized the chance to become something, a chance to overcome his cursed nature.

'I can manage this,' he whispered quietly, feeling the waves turning into tingles of pain, only to eventually completely disperse from his body.

He felt sore; his body a dried piece of parchment, ready to crumble at the slightest of touch. A waterfall of sweat was trickling down his temples, the only living remainder of the struggle he just went through. The pain disappeared as instantly as it arrived, sheer seconds being enough to save Remus from continuing waves of pain.

He took a deep breath and sat on his bed, his feet dangling off the edge, skimming the relieving cold surface of the stone floor. He cleared his eyes and tousled his hair, mere attempts to seize control of his body once more. Even though he was aware that the full moon was coming, he also knew that he would no longer experience the bliss experience of sleep on the night.

He sighed heavily and stood up, walking over to the window, silent as a shadow. Judging by the shimmering stars and the gloom that surrounded the whole castle, it was a middle of the night. He remained by the window for a while longer, welcoming the gust of wind that stroked his face almost in a tenderly manner. Fresh air always aided him in regaining control of his body.

He remembered the long mornings which he spent on the terrace outside his house, few hours since experiencing the horrible sensation of turning into something completely inhuman. He remembered the pain being soothed by the flowing wind which, just like now, eased his wounds, both physical and mental.

Remus' contemplation was interrupted by a loud snore coming from one of the beds located the closest to the doors. Remus froze for a moment, waiting for a notice of a slightest glimpse of movement, yet the snore happened to be both the beginning and the end. After anticipating the silhouette of the boy simply turning from one side to another, Remus closed his eyes in relief.

He knew he couldn't stay in the common room. It was too dark and he wouldn't risk lighting one of the candles he always kept in his ragged jacket, candles which were always ready to accompany him as he ventured into numerous books, exploring them during long, wide awake nights.

He snatched the book placed on the very bottom of his trunk and slowly manoeuvred his way out of the bedroom. Upon entering the common room, a heat wave swung at him immediately, warmth of the fireplace already spread round the entire room.

Remus welcomed the loneliness and took a seat on the couch as the flames cracked happily, dozens of faces dancing inside the flames. The boy stared at the tongues of fire, lost in deep thought, his hands mind absently stroking the hide covered book. His mind was suddenly flickered out of the contemplation upon hearing the bristling of numerous pages of the book, simply waiting to be uncovered.

_Lycanthropy_, a simple and unsuspecting title for a book that proved to be the most useful of Remus' limited resources that covered his unfortunate state, had helped Remus to deal with most of his early symptoms as well as pain that came with them. From time to time, Remus simply took out the tome to simply once again go through it, always discovering some detail that had somehow slipped his notice the reading before. This particular time, he decided to venture into the chapter covering the lack of consciousness upon the transformation.

'The key to understand the nature of the werewolf is simply a comprehension of the animal instinct that takes over the individual the very second a full moon hangs over the diseased. All of his human emotions, feelings, habits – they all disappear, replaced by the most basic and revolting need. The need to kill. The transformed human does not recall any of his human life nor does he recognize the people. Given the way, the creature would without the slightest hesitation murder their own kin in their blood lust,'

Remus continued his read, letting he book completely absorb him for the continuing hours. Upon finishing the chapter, he moved onto the next, and the next yet the book was so thick that a bystander would notice no difference. As the first ray of sunshine delicately slipped its way into the common room through the high vaulted window, Remus recapped the early symptoms leading up to the full moon as well as the way in which the werewolf venom pierces its way through the human body to reach the brain and complete the transformation.

He was suddenly interrupted from his activity as he sensed somebody else's presence. He glanced up to notice a small, mousy brown haired boy of a slight hunch shaking at the entrance, looking at him nervously.

'Hello,' the newcomer squeaked, taking an extreme interest in the tips of his fingernails.

Remus smiled and answered politely, trying to lead the conversation. He learnt that no one was to be judged from their appearance. He himself suffered greatly from various people's ignorance. Yet being violently ripped apart from the book, he could not help but feel remotely irritated. He secretly opened up his book once again, carefully ensuring that the boy would not see the title and buried his nose in its contents. He sensed the boy walking away from him towards the door.

He peeked over the top of the volume and saw a truly miserable sight – the boy hunched even more, the unintentional rejection weighing him down visibly. Remus opened his mouth and closed it again, only to then retort nervously 'See you there,'. He wasn't completely sure how yet he sensed the other boy smile feebly before taking his leave.

As groups of students began descending down into the common room to form small crowds, Remus made his way back upstairs for a morning shower. He also changed into his brand new black robes. He smothered the gentle material of the cloak as he found his way in the confusion of Hogwarts, travelling through various moving staircases, each mobile one making him feel sick as they spun around their axis, changing their direction. Upon reaching the Great Hall, he glanced over at Gryffindor Table and spotted an empty bench at the very end, mere metres away from the Staff Table. He made his way over there, keeping his head down low. Taking his seat, he packed his plate with the food closest to him and started eating it lazily, knowing that he was to have plenty of time before his first period. He however took no pleasure in eating – the food tasted like a dry block of cardboard.

'Yet another perk of being a werewolf,' he thought sarcastically, shaking his head angrily. He never expected this particular symptom to reveal itself this quickly yet it seemed the odds were not in his favour. He continued to stubbornly chew the food down, his head not daring to look up even once.

'Hi!' an unexpected, high pitched voice sounded at his front, piercing him away from his silent struggle with swallowing the tasteless piece of bacon.

He reluctantly put his head up only to be presented to a waterfall of long, straight yet shiny red hair that seemed to shimmer in the sun. The hair belonged to a average-height girl of green eyes who was now grinning at Remus happily, merriness in her large eyes.

'Can I help you?' he asked politely, once again putting his head down.

'I'll remember this offer,' the girl said, grinning even wider as she took her seat opposite Remus' crossing her arms at her chest, 'What's your name?'

Remus was stunned by the girl's forwardness. He glared at her in astonishment, speech lost in his mouth.

'Well, I do think you have one, right?' the girl added after a moment of expectant silence, 'I'm Lily Evans,'

She thrust out her arm, expecting Remus' in return. The boy looked at her nervously then, as if held back by ropes, slowly extended his hand and shook hers, 'Remus Lupin,'.

She smiled happily as they exchanged the handshake. Suddenly she started wiggling his hand and shaking it ever more vigorously, now swinging her arm left and right, Remus forced to follow.

He could not suppress a giggle that escaped his mouth, an alien force that just casually jumped off the tip of his tongue. He almost forgot how to laugh, the sound being strange to his ears.

'So you DO speak!' the girl smiled, sitting back down and packing her plate with fried sausages and toast.

'Surprise, surprise,' Remus replied. He tried to sound sarcastic yet somehow the girl emitted such a positive aura that his usually bitter retorts sounded almost like human comments.

'So, how are you feeling about Transfiguration?'

Remus answered all the entire bombardment of questions, for once actually enjoying the company of another human being – this one, for a nice change, without a revolting look on her face. He noticed that she kept the entire conversation, her head bobbing up and down excitedly as she tattered about one of the chapters from _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _which she read and opinionated on what their first lesson is going to be about.

The longer the conversation lasted, the longer he felt like Remus a boy, not Remus a werewolf. The girl never let the conversation fall, continuously coming up with subjects that somehow happened to also be in Remus' area of interest.

Remus spent most of his morning talking to the newly met Lily Evans. As he watched wild tangles of hair jumping at her back at the end of the breakfast, Remus simply smiled and followed her out of the Great Hall. Many other people would recall this morning to be nothing out of extra ordinary yet for Remus Lupin, this was indeed a very special morning.

**Peter**

As Peter walked into the fairly empty Great Hall, he noticed several of his fellow first year students already sitting at the Gryffindor Table, happily chattering about Quidditch. Peter was a desperate fan of Wimbourne Wasps, only one of the traits he inherited after his mother. Peter heard strange stories spilling out of her mother's friends after one too many glasses of Firewhisky, several particularly interesting as they involved Peter's mother in her youth getting too drunk on homemade wizarding moonshine and storming onto a pitch during the Wimbourne Wasps game.

Peter stroked his thin brown hair nervously and trailed towards the table anxiously, deciding to sit a good few metres away from the children and listen in to their conversation.

'I'm telling you, Aubrey, there's not a chance of England qualifying into the next World Cup!'

'Are you bonkers? Look at their main squad!'

The whole conversation grew more and more fierce, both of the boys angrily reasoning with another.

Finally, a boy named Davey Gudgeon shouted over both of them, telling them to shut up as well as threatening to cast a newly learnt Leg-Binding Curse he tested on his cat.

Finally, as Peter anticipated, the conversation moved onto the topic of British teams. The children covered big most of them, discussing happily how a particular one managed last season.

'Wasps failed!'

'We both know that Wimbourne tend to have a great game!'

'It is recorded that most of the seasons the Wasps won occurred after a terrible previous season,' Peter heard himself say squeakily.

The crowd stopped its hubbub, eyeing him curiously. He managed to grin nervously as one of the boys picked up the topic, poking the other one furiously.

'Told you! See, even he knows more about Quidditch than you do!'

'No he doesn't!' the other boy retorted, angrily burying his head into his pate of scrambled eggs.

'Don't mind him. He's always like this,' the boy named Davey smiled at Peter, 'I'm Davey Gudgeon,'

'Peter. Peter Pettigrew,' squealed Peter. He was starting to like Hogwarts very, very much.

**All copyrights go entirely to J.K Rowling.**

**Excuse the shortness yet I am still troubled with a lack of ideas, however the next chapter is already being written and will be significantly longer!**


End file.
